Clato: Rock-a-by Baby in the Shallow Grave
by StarCrossedLoversofSkyrim
Summary: Drama. Chaos. Heartbreak. In this sequel to Clato: Twinkle Twinkle Little Bitches follow Clove and the *remaining* group! Don't want to give away too much... Just R&R pls!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, Lovelys! This is exactly what you think it is, a SEQUEL TO Clato: Twinkle Twinkle Little Bitches! I know, I know, I am so good at titles. I have been thinking about what I would do with the story… And now you have this. If you didn't read my story, said above, then go check it out. Enjoy!**

Pain. So much pain. Burning. The smell of smoke. But, I must trek on. For all those in District 13. Those who are dead. My bones ache, my joints ready to give. but, some how I keep going. I must keep looking. Looking for….. "Cato."

My lip quivers at the very sound of his name, as I saw him be shot by Capital Officials. I ran off and hid, to horrified to even think. I waited until the earth quit shaking to come out. I have been climbing through the ruins for hours now. Not even a bird dares make a noise, in fear that the Capital might come back and finish killing everything in the area.

I step over a body, a girls body. I unintentionally look at her charred face, recognizing her. Glimmer Chassey. Marvel Chassey's sister. I jerk myself forward, sick with despair. I didn't really know her, and she was a bitch. But.. seeing her, anyone, like this is… sickening. Depressing.

She's obviously dead, so I can't help her. She has several bullet holes in her chest, and her body is charred almost completely black. I keep moving. There are small bodies scattering the different levels, children. Children don't deserve this. No one does. This complete silence rings in my head, echoing the sound of my own thoughts.

The smell of burnt flesh poisons my senses, making me gag every time the smell gets stronger. I feel as if I might faint. The trees above seemingly miles away, swirling into an abyss of dark smoke covering the sky. Am only I left? Am I to go on alone? Or am I not even supposed to be alive? So many thoughts. Too many for me to handle.

As I stand on the ruins of a desk, reaching for the next level, something snaps and I am lunged back down. Falling forever it seems. Especially when now only air passing my ears can be heard. My mouth is opened and I am screaming, but no noise is coming out. The last thing I feel is the heated ground hitting my back. Hard.

**XXX**

Soft fingers gently caress my face. This gesture is soothing, welcoming. I smile. I don't know who these fingers belong to but I don't want them to go away. I want them here with me in this eternal darkness, forever soothing me with their gentle touch. Forever assuring me that I am not alone. That there is someone who cares, but I just don't know who. I don't care, though. Just what they are doing. I have never had anyone touch me this way. This intimately. I like it. The fingers outline my lips, as a voice calls. A soft voice, in the distance. A male voice.

"Clove, wake up." It says, deep and alluring. I didn't know I was asleep.

"Cato." The name rolls off my tongue, so comfortably.

But when I open my eyes, my heart aches. I am looking at a black sky, miles above, glowing red pavement, and smoke. I am not in Cato's room, not in any part of District 2. I am in the ruins of the rebuilt District 13. Alone.

Reality sinks in, making an ugly curdling home inside my stomach. I take in a deep breath, trying to keep from shaking. Cato is dead. Just like the rest of my friends. Just before the bombs hit…. Cato announced our engagement.

I sit up, shaking as tear stream down my face. "They can't be dead." I say. "He can't be dead!" My voice echos, sending crows flying. "NO!" I sob. I stand up, punching and kicking whatever I can. I ignore the pain, my knuckles bleeding slightly. I push through my throbbing back. I scream as loudly as I can, hoping that god; or whoever is in control can here me and see me. "This is your fault!" I scream. I sink to the ground, covering my eyes from the sight. "You've left me alone. You took them. It's your fault…" I sob so hard, it is almost unintelligible. My very soul quakes, my stomach churns so painfully that I feel as if I might vomit. The enormous lump in my throat throbs. I go on my knees, vomit making it's way, some how, past the lump and out of me, splattering the ground. Great…

I crawl away, no more energy left in me. I crawl to the very center of the light through the massive hole from the bombs, in the faintest hint of moon light. I curl up into the fetal position, rocking myself against the warm ground. As I lie on my side, I think to myself how truly alone I am.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, Lovelys! This is the second chapter of awesomeness. Will anyone come back? Or will Clove be left alone? What's gonna happen? Enjoy!**

Cold, yet burning. Alone, yet surrounded with despair. I'm a walking contradiction. Well, I haven't moved out of this position in a day. So, not much walking has been getting done of the late. The still-burning ash drifts down, mocking me. It reminds of the snow in District 2; drifting down from the heavens. I remember when I was little, I would always ask my nanny where snow came from. She always said it was the angel's tears; that every Winter they would cry because the plants were dying, and people were starving. So every time it snowed, I would sit outside and cry with the angels. My father didn't like that idea, so when I was eight he "Taught me a lesson". After that, I made fun of the angels and would tell them to grow up. Now I know that it is frozen water from the clouds… But, hey, I was a kid.

I bones ache. My soul yearns for Cato, along with the rest of everyone. Johanna. Effie. Gale. Katniss. Madge. Finnick, Peeta, Haymitch, Prim, Rue. All of them. But especially Cato…

My ragged grey uniform is smeared with soot and ash. Images of the last two days flood my mind. Cato had just announced our engagement, when all the sudden the very earth shook and the first of the bombs were off. They came in waves, and when the last of them were over, Capital officials were lowered down on ropes from hovercrafts. They shot anyone they could get their hands on, including… Cato. Katniss, Madge, and Foxface got away, but I saw Officials run after them… Prim and Rue were shots in their beds. Haymitch and Effie were abducted, but the hovercraft crashed. Peeta ran somewhere, and the rest I have no idea.

I decide to see what's up top, if the Capital people are really gone. But, then, I think they would have heard me screaming. I look around myself, to see that I am at the very last level of District 13, the hiding space. Dead bodies lay about in the shadows. The stench. Oh, the stench.

I struggle to get up, my body even weaker than before. Not from pain, but from sobbing. My hair is singed to half it's length, to just under my shoulders. It is peppered with ash. My palms are burning red. Burns cover my body, yet this pain doesn't even compare to the sorrow I feel inside. I look around myself, trying to figure out where to go from here.

**XXX**

I gingerly step into the decrepit elevator. The lights are burnt out, as to be expected. The mirror-like metal is almost perfectly preserved, just as it was three days ago. When everything was okay. I grab the emergency ladder going up into the fire escape, climbing far enough up to push open the emergency-ceiling door, then climbing into the shaft.

Everything is doused in darkness, light seeping in through the ceiling door. I lower myself onto the top of the elevator. Crouching down, I feel around the strangely cold surface, looking for the emergency kit. A couple cobwebs later, I finally feel the plastic container. Yes! Final-fuckin-ly!

Hurriedly, I drag it to where the little bit of light is let in. The container is red, with a white + sign in the center. My fingers fumble as I unclasp it. I barely see the small flashlight, but then upon turning it on, I see the headlight tucked in the corner beside the antiseptic. Guess Pres Coin was anticipating this. I squeeze it onto my head, clicking it on and closing the box to find the straps on the other side. Ingenius. They really were anticipating this. Kind of creepy. I quickly slide it on, then continue on up the shaft, into the light.

**XXX**

The light burns my eyes. Birds chirp up above. The sun beats down hard. Sweat drips down my skin, soaking my grey uniform. My feet drag on the forest floor. It seems that I've been traveling forever, although it's only been about an hour. I have made it into the sparse forest. The evergreen trees sway slightly in the summer breeze. The smell of waterlilies drifts by, making me want to smile, but I just can't not with what's happened. I just need to find a safe place to stay for a while. Yeah. And then maybe- No. Nothing will ever be the same. Not even a little bit.

Off in the distance, I see a small pond, surrounded by rocks. Oh, thank god. But, wait. The "rocks" are moving. Those aren't rocks, so… What are they? When I step closer, I see… Faces. They are people. The rocks are people. What the hell. Maybe they escaped from the bombing! Something comes over me, and I sprint forward, towards the pond, towards the people-rocks.

The people stop what they are doing, opening up a path directly through to- Cato.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, Lovelys! What's up? How are you doing? Enjoying the story? Hope so! Don't forget to like my page on Facebook for updates about stories and new stories, if you're interested. You can copy and paste the link on my profile. And I know, very short chapters of the late. But... That will change once I have more time to write. Don't forget to R&R! Enjoy!**

I just about faint. Cato is here… Alive. And- So is everyone else. Tears cloud my vision, tears of happiness. I turn around and look at everyone. Foxface, Effie and Haymitch. Gale. Finnick. Katniss and Peeta. Carmen? Marvel Chassey? They made it? Ugh… Wait.. Where's Everyone else? Oh, fuck…

"Clove." I hear Cato say behind me, his voice tired and ragged.

"I thought you were dead," I hardly whisper. I turn around, to see his blue eyes, clouded with pain and worry. His face is covered in dirt, along with his body and everyone else. And then I notice it. The bandage. On his side. Where he was shot. "Oh, Cato."

I go to him, hugging him as gently as I can manage, but I still am crushing him. The tears start flowing. He's alive. He's alive. It's alright. Everything is… Alright. His warm body against mine… Feels so right. He real again, not just a memory. Flesh and blood. The world is complete again, except for my fallen friends…

"I thought you were dead." I say again, louder. I am sobbing now. I really thought everything was hopeless. But it's not. As long as we're together. Cato remains silent, but hugs me back, even tighter than I am hugging him. But, I can feel how weak he is, and it breaks my heart.

"But we're not. I'm not." He says. "Except.." I starts, but I finish.

"Annie and Madge." I say coldly. I didn't know them that well, but they were entirely nice. I considered them my friends. "Bless their souls." I finish, with feeling.

I let go, turning to the rest of my friends. Effie runs to me embracing me tightly. I hug her back, and realize, Johanna's not here. "Where's Jo?"

Effie pulls away, shaking her head. "I don't know. When everything happened, there was so much chaos, I lost track of her before Haymitch and I were forced into the hovercraft. We made it out, but… I still didn't see her." She says, voiced laced with despair. Her delicate face is covered in scratches and bruises. Reminds me of something. Oh, yeah. My childhood.

Katniss comes over to us, Peeta following her. She hugs me. So many hugs. It's nice. Of course, I hug back. I smile weakly at Peeta. He returns it, his blue eyes still showing the horror of the past few days. When Katniss pulls away, Foxface, squeezes a hug in before anyone else can. Her red hair is singed to her chin, which actually is not a bad look for her. It's kind of cute. I'm such a girl sometimes. Haha.

Foxface pulls away and smiles. "I'm glad you made it." She says, in her usual foxx tone.

"That reminds me. We can't be the only ones who made it out. Did you guys see anyone else?" I ask, looking at the entire group.

"We saw one group. Heading East. Opposite us." Gale speaks up, his deep voice sullen per usual.

I nod. I sit down on a rock near the stream. "What do we do now?" I ask quietly.

Almost as if planned, everyone say in unison, "I have no idea."


End file.
